DOE OSTI · 2589347
Intercalation-Engineered Out-of-Plane Polarized van der Waals Ferromagnetic Superlattice with Room-Temperature Néel-Type Skyrmions
Abstract
Superlattices (SLs) based on two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials, abbreviated as 2D-SLs, have garnered significant attention due to their customizable properties. 2D-SLs can be engineered by mechanical stacking or chemical intercalation to achieve diverse forms of symmetry breaking, resulting in exotic phenomena like the quantum anomalous Hall effect and topological magnetism. Hitherto, broken symmetries in 2D-SLs have been widely produced within lateral planes or three dimensions. However, symmetry breaking along the vertical direction, specifically as an out-of-plane one-dimensional (1D) polarized superlattice, has not yet been achieved. Here, in this paper, we report a so far unseen out-of-plane 1D polarized vdW ferromagnetic superlattice achieved through an approach of two-step intercalation and de-embedding of chromium (Cr)-based 2D vdW magnets. The off-centering polarization of both intrinsic and intercalated Cr atoms in this (1 × 1 × 2) superstructure breaks the mirror symmetry vertically, yielding a Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI). This results in high-density Néel-type magnetic skyrmions over a broad temperature range. Notably, sub-100 nm Néel-type skyrmions at room temperature (RT) can be achieved by tuning the Cr intercalation ratio, marking the first binary compound RT Néel-type skyrmionic vdW magnet. Our work expands the 2D-SL family with a class of out-of-plane 1D polarized ferromagnetic superlattice with tunable topological magnetism.
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Deng, Ying [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)], Li, Zefang [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)], Li, Guanqi [Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou (China)], Shen, Xi [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)], Zhang, Huai [South China Normal University (SCNU), Guangzhou (China)], Wang, Junlin [Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou (China)], Wu, Lijun [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)], Guo, Jiangteng [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)], Hu, Yue [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)], Hu, Xuange [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)], Liu, Can [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)], Qin, Minghui [South China Normal University (SCNU), Guangzhou (China)], Yu, Richeng [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)] (ORCID:0000000280860910), Gao, Xingsen [South China Normal University (SCNU), Guangzhou (China)] (ORCID:0000000227250785), Liao, Zhimin [Peking University, Beijing (China)] (ORCID:0000000163619626), Liu, Junming [South China Normal University (SCNU), Guangzhou (China); Nanjing Univ. (China)] (ORCID:0000000189888429), Ma, Xiang [Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China)] (ORCID:0000000341665220), Yu, Dapeng [Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen (China)], Xiang, Bin [Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China)] (ORCID:0000000182548640), Hou, Zhipeng [South China Normal University (SCNU), Guangzhou (China)] (ORCID:0000000349352149), Zhu, Yimei [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000216387217), Fu, Xuewen [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China)] (ORCID:0000000161164680). 2025-09-04. Intercalation-Engineered Out-of-Plane Polarized van der Waals Ferromagnetic Superlattice with Room-Temperature Néel-Type Skyrmions. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c10466
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